The casino gaming industry continually seeks to invent new gambling games in order to add flare to the old standbys such as Blackjack, Craps, Poker, Baccarat etc. The object is to keep the gaming interest of both the old and the new customers high in order to maintain and grow the revenues and profits for the industry. In actuality, the so-called new games surfaced in recent years are rarely new but are takeoffs from older games. For example, Caribbean Stud is based on Stud Poker. So are Let It Ride and Three Card Poker. Notwithstanding, new games are still in great demand whether or not they are really new or are just takeoffs from the older standbys.
As we, the “earth people” living in this planet, enter into the 21st century, there have been profound changes in world affairs that severely impact the well-being of our society. One can list a number of such events that led to those changes. But among them three really stand out. The first event has to be the end of the cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States which led indirectly to the breakup of the Soviet Empire. This event has changed many lives, both within and without the former Soviet Union. Many people living formerly under the Soviet rule are today enjoying their political freedom for the first time after many decades. More importantly they have now become productive and free citizens once again in their new environments leading to significant economical gain because of their entrepreneurship and hard work.
The second event has to be the advent of the Internet starting as early as in the late 1970s. Although it took more than two decades including the notorious “WWW or World Wide Wait” period instead of “World Wide Web” for its ridiculously slow services in the beginning, and a gigantic bubble burst in the capital investment community shortly after the turn of the last century to prove to everybody that it is indeed one of the most important events that has taken place. Indeed the Internet, together with the tremendous advances in the silicon chip and the computer software technologies during the past two decades have literally ushered the world into the so-called Information Age. Today virtually everything in private and public commerce is done on the Internet leading to an unprecedented productivity gain in many sectors of industry. It is primarily a direct result of the dawning of this Information Age discussed above that has led to the third event as elucidated below.
The third event could broadly be described as globalization, meaning simply that all activities involving international commerce, trade, finance, communication and production of goods and services are taking place irrespective of continental, national or geographical boundaries as long as they are done in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. The direct consequence of globalization is that goods and services are much cheaper than before because of the immense gain in overall productivity. In other words, countries that possess plenty of cheap labor will automatically be given the opportunity to produce goods or to perform services that are needed worldwide. This globalization has led to a significance rise in the standard of living for almost all countries during the past decade, especially those in the third world. However, globalization is a two-edged sword. Whereas some countries like China and India, whose economies have been benefited tremendously by the effects of globalization, other countries like the US, European Union countries and even Japan have suffered significant negative effects like the loss of employment and the closing down of many factories that are no longer competitive in the world scene. Globalization is today an on-going process and nobody knows for sure what will eventually become of our world. One thing, however, is amply clear. China is presently experiencing a strong rise in its economical fortune.
During the past two decades, as more and more affluent Chinese and Asian gamblers, a direct result of globalization discussed above, came to Las Vegas and Atlantic City to play, there has been a growing sense of opportunity for the casinos to come up with new games in order to attract the attention of these new customers. Common sense will have it that if these new games could be devised based upon the cultural folklores and ancient concepts that the Chinese and Asian revere, such as Yin Yang (two opposing forces) and Feng Shui (wind and water), the chance of these new games being enthusiastically accepted by the new corners will be greatly enhanced. Furthermore, if these new games could blend the old and popular Chinese gambling games such as Mahjongg, Tin Gau, Sic Bo and Fan Tan (the so-called “Big Four”), with the traditional Western style gambling games such as Roulette, Poker, Blackjack etc., the so-called gaming fusion of the East and West, then the chance of success should even be greater.
While the need to create new games for casinos in the U.S., based upon the fusion of the culture and gambling methods of both the East and the West, is pretty much a no-brainer, its realization might not be as simple as one is led to believe. However, it can clearly be done if innovation and prudence are brought to bear in reaching this goal. It is quite apparent that the single most important gambling tool or instrument that anchors many of the traditional Western gambling games is the international 52-card pack. The many versions of the poker games such as Texas Hold'em, 5-Card Stud, 7-Card Stud (Hi/Lo), Draw Poker etc. and many of the so-called new games such as “Spanish 21”, “Caribbean Stud”, “three Card Poker” etc. all use the international 52-card pack to play the games. In addition to the poker game, the vastly popular Blackjack and the new game of “Let It Ride” also uses the international 52-card pack to play them. Finally, the important game of Baccarat, the favorite of the high rollers, also uses the international 52-card pack to play the game. Apart from the international 52-card pack, the wheel and the small ball used in the playing of Roulette and the two dices used in the playing of Craps are dedicated to their respective specific games and are therefore different both in function and applicability to the international 52 -card pack.
It is well known that over centuries the Chinese love to play the games of chance or to put it simply, they love to gamble. Gambling is literally in their blood, so to say, just as the Irish love visiting their neighborhood pub for a drink of beer after work prior to going home. As mentioned earlier, the traditional gambling games in the East for the Chinese are the so-called “Big Four”, namely Mahjongg, Tin Gau, Sic Bo and Fan Tan. Both the Mahjongg and the Tin Gau games have their special set of tiles dedicated to playing the game and they are therefore unique. One uses three dice to play the Sic Bo game and just a big pile of beans or pebbles and a “pick” to play the Fan Tan game. What is conspicuously missing in the East is the counterpart of the West's 52-card pack which anchors many favorite Western gambling games. As alluded to earlier, in order to fully grasp the marketing opportunity that more and more affluent Chinese and Asians will be visiting Las Vegas and Atlantic city in the coming years, casino operators are keen to score one or more “winner” games for the visitors. The current inventor recognizes this unique opportunity and captures it by devising a novel Chinese style poker deck called the “Chinese Poker Deck” whose construct reflects not only its Western origin, but also allows the permeation of the culture and thinking of the East into same through the use of one of the “Big Four” gambling games, namely, Mahjongg.
It is clear from the discussion above that a Chinese Poker Deck has to be invented, or created from scratch, but based upon the Eastern cultural thinking and concept of the original Western 52-card pack in order to take full advantage of the affluent Chinese and Asian gamblers visiting Las Vegas and Atlantic City in the coming years. It is without argument that Mahjongg is by far the most popular gambling game in China and the Far East for at least several hundred years. Thus it is prudent that a portion of the unique tiles of the Mahjongg set is used as a basis for forming the Chinese Poker Deck. Because of the fact that most Chinese and Asians are already quite familiar with and knowledgeable in playing Mahjongg, they naturally would be able to recognize the various special tiles of the game without much difficulty. As a matter of fact, most Chinese have already known for years the entire set of Mahjongg tiles by heart since their adulthood. During the early '50s, there were Mahjongg parlors in most major casinos in Las Vegas to accommodate small numbers of gamblers from China and the Far East. But due to the small operating profits obtained by casinos from these Mahjongg parlors, most of them started to disappear from the Las Vegas gambling scene in the early '70s. By the early '80s in Las Vegas, Mahjongg parlors became nothing but a fond memory of the past. Still, Mahjongg continues to be the number one family gambling game in Asia, particular in China. Although officially no gambling is allowed within the People's Republic of China, because people love to play this game so much that the playing of Mahjongg has been tacitly allowed since the communists took over China back in 1949 and such is still prevailing today.
It is difficult to imagine a Chinese who is indifferent to Feng Shui—the age old Chinese concept of associating harmony with luck and good fortune! Feng Shui in Chinese means wind and water. Its origin dates back several thousand years to ancient China. The geography of that vast land requires careful consideration when constructing a building since the mountain winds can be severe and the lower areas are prone to flooding. Thus for the ancient Chinese, Feng Shui literally means “luck engineering”. However, the ancient Chinese did not consider luck as synonymous with chance. To them luck was opportunity and they believed that even if presented with opportunity, many of us do not act and grasp it with both hands. Today Feng Shui remains as both a fascinating and a revered living concept for the Chinese. They not only believe in Feng Shui, but also strive to improve it whenever and wherever possible in order to increase their opportunity, thereby enhancing their luck in whatever they are doing.
Practically speaking, this Chinese folk culture of Feng Shui could therefore be interpreted as an “art of professional placement” or “opportunity engineering”. For the modern Chinese, it is most important for them to seek harmony with Feng Shui, meaning for them to find or identify opportunities for themselves and then to pursue them. The five opportunities most recognized with Feng Shui by the Chinese are 1) Longevity; 2) Luck; 3) Wealth; 4) Health and 5) Fertility. Every Chinese is advised to constantly seek out these opportunities in the hope that they can be realized by executing the right strategies.
Thus, in addition to using a portion of the Mahjongg set to form the Chinese Poker Deck, the incorporation of the concept of Feng Shui into it is equally important and opportunistic in order to blend in the cultural folklore of the Chinese people into this new deck of cards.
However, even if a new deck of cards is created that blends a portion of the Mahjongg set with the concept of Feng Shui, for such a new deck to gain widespread acceptance in both the East as well as the West where the international 52-card pack has gained widespread acceptance, such a deck must be usable in games traditionally played with the international 52-card pack, and the biggest such card game at the present time has to be poker.
Although there are literally hundreds of variations on how poker is played, there are three main categories of popular variations.
First, there is draw poker, in which a certain number of cards are dealt, there is usually a round of betting, and then players still remaining in the game are given the option of drawing one or more additional cards, after which another round of betting ensues. A popular example of draw poker is 5 card draw.
Second, there is stud poker, in which a certain number of cards are dealt one at a time to players, usually with certain cards dealt face up, but the players have no option of discarding cards, and betting rounds ensue in accordance with a preselected set of rules for the game after players have been dealt certain cards (in other words, while a player may fold, if two players stay in to the final card, the outcome of the hand will not change, as it might in draw poker, as a result of a player choice, such as deciding how many and which cards to discard). A popular example of stud poker is 7 card stud poker.
Third, there is community card poker, in which players make a hand from cards dealt to individual players and a number of “community cards” (which are usually dealt face up) that can be used by all players to make a hand in accordance with a preselected set of rules for the game. A popular example of community card poker is Texas Hold 'Em, also known as Hold 'Em or holdem. In Texas Hold 'Em, each player receives two cards face down, and then three community cards are turned face up, followed by a fourth community card turned face up, followed by a fifth and final community card turned face up, with betting rounds ensuing at each stage of the process. Indeed, Texas Hold 'Em has become so popular in the United States today that it is regularly played in tournaments in casinos, card clubs and online websites, and some of the tournaments, such as the World Series of Poker®, are televised events with the winner taking millions of dollars in prize money.
In view of the widespread popularity of poker, and its many variants, it would be extremely desirable if such games could still be played with the Chinese Poker Deck, and it is to this goal that the present invention is directed.